Q: You’ve probably written about this previously, but Highway 101 south to Highway 87 is considered one of the most problematic merges in your polls of drivers, and many believe it is the cause of the daily horror show on 101 from Lawrence Expressway to Oakland Road.

The real problem, though, is the Trimble Road/De La Cruz Boulevard cloverleaf — the same problem that plagued the 101/Willow Road cloverleaf until the recent rebuild: three lanes on Trimble go down to two over 101, no merge area onto 101 south, etc.

Is there a plan to reconstruct Trimble/101 and add a dedicated lane from 101 to 87, and if so, when?

Bill Adler, Mountain View

A: Yes, and now that the lawsuit over the Measure B transportation tax has been thrown out, work will be moving ahead. The 101/Trimble project is in the design phase and VTA anticipates that it will be fully funded once Measure B funds are available. Design is anticipated to be completed in summer 2020 and construction in late 2022.

And there will be two exit lanes from 101 to 87.

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Q: I was shocked and dismayed when I read of your support of high-speed rail or the train to nowhere. I would like to direct your attention to the editorial in the Mercury News last week entitled “State’s bullet train constructed with foundation of deceit”. In a state with a mountain of unfunded liabilities, this is beyond stupid and you can’t fix stupid. Anything the government does takes longer than stated, costs more than stated and does not perform as stated.

Rich Garlow, Sunnyvale

A: In some cases that is true — think of the Bay Bridge. But there are projects done on time and on budget — think of Highway 85. The cost of extending high-speed rail from the Central Valley to San Francisco is now estimated at $77.3 billion which is more than double the projected cost from 10 years ago. Should the state go ahead with it? Experts are split, so stay tuned.

Q: Perhaps this is a nit in the grand scheme, but time, dirt, vandalism, etc. have taken their toll on the signs in the median of Interstate 280. Just take a trek north from downtown San Jose to De Anza Boulevard. Particularly in low light, the reflective surface is no longer able to do its job. I’m sure this isn’t the only spot with this issue, but can Caltrans do anything about it?

A: I hope so, for the appearance of some of these signs are a disgrace and has been so for many months. Caltrans has graffiti crews that handle vandalism on its signs but many are covered with dirt and soot. Go to https://csr.dot.ca.gov/ to let them know exactly where and what type of maintenance needs are to be addressed.

Gary Richards has covered traffic and transportation in the Bay Area as Mr. Roadshow since 1992. Prior to that he was an assistant sports editor at the paper from 1984-1987. He started his journalism career as a sports editor in Iowa in 1975.

A Kia Sportage drove into the back of a Mercedes Sprinter just before 9 a.m. on southbound I-680 before the S. Main Street exit, causing chemicals inside the Sprinter to spill within that vehicle, the California Highway Patrol said.